The History of Video Games

Single Semester class
Professor: James York
Meiji University (fall only) / Sophia University (Spring and Fall)
Office hours: By appointment (email me)

Video games didn’t just “happen,” they evolved through decades of experiments, accidents, corporate rivalries, and cultural shifts. This course takes us from the earliest electronic experiments to the billion-dollar industry shaping contemporary culture. Along the way we’ll play, discuss, criticise, review, explore, connect, and create, building historical knowledge, game literacy, and critical faculties. The course ends with a video essay project (or presentation if that’s what you prefer) that connects what you’ve learned to your own personal gaming history.

Learning Goals

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Situate games within their cultural, social, and technological context.
• Play and analyze games across multiple genres and generations.
• Improve academic writing skills through close reading, writing, and discussions about topics presented in class.
• Critically examine games’ economic and cultural impact.
• Produce a research-driven, creative video essay (or presentation).

Disclaimer

• This isn’t “just for fun,” we’ll approach games critically, not just nostalgically.
• Play is homework. Sometimes it’s retro, sometimes mobile, sometimes experimental.
• Creativity counts. Expect to make things, not only write about them.
• Your final project is a video essay. Think of it as a mashup of research, critique, and storytelling.

Grading

• Participation: 10%
• Homework & activities: 40%
• Final video essay/presentation: 50%

Grading includes self-evaluation, peer feedback, and instructor evaluation.

Weekly Schedule*

*Please note that this is a tentative list of lesson plans, that is subject to change.

Week 1: Introductions & Early Games

• Topics: Course intro, personal histories with games, the very first games (1940s–60s).
• Play: Pong (online), Zork, draughts at lidraughts.org.
• Activity: Massive Multiplayer Thumb-Wrestling.
• Homework (200–300 words):
  • What was your first game?
  • Favorite game? Why?
  • Are games good or bad? Why?
  • What do you hope to get out of this course?

Week 2: The Golden Age of Arcades (1970s–80s)

• Topics: Pac-Man fever, Donkey Kong, arcade culture.
• Play: Pac-Man, Donkey Kong (emulated).
• Activity: Columbian Hypnosis (drama-based pedagogy).
• Homework:
  • Play another retro game for at least 15 minutes and write a report.
  • Extra credit: Do it in a Tokyo arcade and bring photos.
  • Extra extra credit: Play a pinball machine.

Week 3: Field Trip to Mikado Arcade

• Activity: Play pinball, explore arcade culture.
• Homework: Pinball write-up.

Week 4: Home Consoles & Personal Computers (1970s–80s)

• Topics:
  • US systems: Atari 2600, Apple II, Commodore 64
  • UK systems: ZX80, ZX81, ZX Spectrum
  • Japan: Nintendo, Game & Watch, Game Boy, Miyamoto, Gunpei Yokoi’s “lateral thinking with withered technology”
  • Bishōjo games, Koei’s Night Life, Enix’s Lolita Syndrome, early visual novels (Otogiriso, Mystery House, Tokimeki Memorial, Ace Attorney)
• Play: Super Mario Bros. (NES), King’s Quest (PC).
• Homework:
  • Interview a parent or grandparent: Did they own a console or computer? What did they play?
  • Review a NES game other than Mario.
  • Extra credit: Play a game nobody else does.

Week 5: Midterm Presentations

Choose one:

1. Game deep dive: Design, themes, cultural context, historical significance.
2. Genre study: How a genre evolved during the early years.
3. Impact of a historical event: (e.g., the 1983 crash, rise of home computers).
4. Developer/company case study.
5. Cross-cultural comparison: How different regions experienced gaming.

Week 5.2: The 16-Bit Era (1990s)

• Consoles: SNES vs. Sega Genesis.
• Technical talk: CPU speeds, graphics palettes, sound chips.
• Games: Super Mario World, Sonic the Hedgehog, Chrono Trigger, Street Fighter II, Aladdin, Earthworm Jim.
• Themes: Console wars, censorship (Mortal Kombat blood/no blood), rise of ESRB, Nintendo’s Seattle Mariners purchase, Rare’s rise.
• Activity: Play/watch 16-bit games, analyze graphics/sound/gameplay.

Week 6: The 3D Revolution (1990s–2000s)

• Topics: Early 3D breakthroughs, Sony’s rise, new storytelling.
• Games: Crash Bandicoot, Final Fantasy VII.
• Discussion: Which games actually “changed the industry”? (Hint: Doom.)

Week 7: Online Gaming, MMOs & eSports (1990s–2010s)

• Topics:
  • LAN parties (Doom, Quake, Unreal Tournament).
  • MMOs: Ultima Online, Everquest, RuneScape, World of Warcraft.
  • MOBAs (League of Legends, Dota 2).
  • eSports growth, streaming, sponsorships.
  • Gold farming & digital labor.
  • Speedrunning culture.
• Screenings: Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters, AGDQ runs.
• Discussion: Online gaming’s positives and negatives.

Week 8: Mobile & Casual Games (2000s–2010s)

• Topics: Rise of smartphones, Angry Birds/Candy Crush, freemium model.
• Screening: GDC talk 1,500 Slot Machines Walk into a Bar.
• Activities:
  • Discussion: How do you play mobile games?
  • Critical analysis: Pick one mobile game and analyze design, monetization, impact.
  • Design challenge: Prototype a casual mobile game + logo.

Week 9: The Dark Side of Gaming

• Addiction: Gaming disorder, healthy vs. unhealthy play.
• Discrimination & Representation: Sexism, racism, homophobia. #Gamergate (Quinn, Sarkeesian).
• Ethics: Crunch culture, predatory monetization, labor issues.
• Screenings: How Game Publishers Buy Crunch Overseas, Vox & WaPo on Gamergate.
• Activities: Group presentations on addiction, diversity, or ethics.

Week 10: Final Project Kickoff

• Brainstorm video essay topics.
• Think personal + historical + critical.

Weeks 11–13: Making the Video Essay

• Week 11:
  • Watch/analyze video essays (visuals, narration, structure).
  • Share topic ideas.
  • Draft script.
• Week 12: Recording/fieldwork (studio, phone, PPT, CapCut, iMovie, DaVinci Resolve, etc.).
• Week 13: Rehearsal — Peer review workshop.

Week 14: Final Video Screenings

• Sophia: in-class screenings.
• Meiji: public event in Global Hall.

Core Materials

• Reference book: Tristan Donovan, Replay: The History of Video Games (don’t buy, I’ll provide excerpts).
• Films: Indie Game: The Movie, The King of Kong.
• Series: High Score (Netflix), Extra Credits playlist.
• Articles: From Journal of Geek Studies and others (provided in class).

Final Project: The Video Essay

• Length: 5–15 minutes.
• Format: Your choice. Documentary, creative, performative, machinima, personal.
• Goal: Answer a research question, grounded in course themes.
• Evaluation: Content, structure, visuals, narration, creativity.